Longtime center will play in his 1,000th NHL game Sunday, when the franchise also will celebrate its 2,000th game

Share this:

Ryan Getzlaf of the Ducks celebrates after scoring a first-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 27, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

ANAHEIM — There were piles upon piles of commemorative hockey sticks stacked on a table when Ryan Getzlaf arrived at Honda Center one recent afternoon. A box of silver Sharpies lay at the ready. A chair was positioned just so, and Getzlaf dropped into it, ready to get to work.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a blast, but I guess if people are still asking that’s a good thing,” Getzlaf said, laughing when someone pulled up a chair next to him for an extended conversation, asking if it was still fun to sign autographs, after all these seasons in the NHL.

Getzlaf signed his name effortlessly, rapidly, the same scrawl hundreds of times, over and over again in the same spot on the blade of the rough wooden sticks. They were to be sold to Ducks fans as part of a charity fundraiser, a celebration of his 1,000th NHL game.

Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks will be the franchise’s 2,000th game and – barring injury, illness or alien abduction – Getzlaf’s 1,000th, which means he will have played in exactly half of the Ducks’ games since they began play in 1993-94.

“It’s very humbling,” he said. “I look back now a little more than I have in the past, especially at playing 1,000 games with one organization. The time I’ve put into this organization and the time they’ve put into me, my growth, is a pretty big accomplishment, and an honor for me.”

Others have played their 1,000th NHL game while wearing a Ducks sweater, most recently Ryan Kesler last season, but Getzlaf will be the first to play each of his 1,000 games with the franchise that drafted him in the first round (19th overall) in 2003.

“He’s the leader, the face of the franchise,” said Corey Perry, Getzlaf’s linemate for the better part of 14 seasons before the Ducks bought out his contract last spring and he signed with the Dallas Stars. “Ever since Teemu, Scotty, Pronger, ‘Jiggy,’ those guys left, he’s kind of taken over.”

Perry referred to Ducks icons Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and J-S Giguere. Selanne and Niedermayer have their uniform numbers retired alongside Paul Kariya’s. Selanne, Niedermayer and Pronger are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is Kariya.

Getzlaf is the longest-tenured captain in Ducks history, 10 seasons and counting, longer by three years than Kariya. Getzlaf was a Stanley Cup champion in his second NHL season, the Ducks’ leading playoff scorer in their relentless march to claim Lord Stanley’s cherished trophy in 2006-07.

It’s not difficult to imagine his No. 15 jersey hanging next to Selanne’s No. 8, Kariya’s No. 9 and Niedermayer’s No. 27 in the Honda Center rafters some day. It’s also not far-fetched to think of the day when Getzlaf will join them as a Hall of Fame member.

“If he’s not in the Hall of Fame, I don’t know who is,” said Andrew Cogliano, another former Ducks teammate now with the Stars. “I think he’s definitely someone who should be in that conversation and should be in the Hall of Fame. I think he’s done enough in the game.

“And he’s still doing a lot.”

Getzlaf continues to lead. He hasn’t slowed in the least. He seems re-energized by a new role.

He’s been asked to serve as mentor to a group of talented young players this season. He’s shouldered many burdens over the years. This one is different, but every bit as important as the franchise sheds one generation of players – like Cogliano, Kesler and Perry – and embraces a new one.

Getzlaf has scored seven goals in the Ducks’ first 15 games this season, tied with Jakob Silfverberg for the second behind Adam Henrique’s team-leading eight going into Sunday. He also has three assists and a plus-four defensive rating while playing without Perry for the first time in his career.

“When he gets those legs going, when he’s physical, when he gets going, he’s still one of the best players in the league,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. “I wouldn’t want to play against him when he’s like that. It’s just hard to do now. With the schedule of the games, it’s just hard.”

Clearly, though, with new faces all around him and a new coach, Dallas Eakins, instilling new things, Getzlaf is having fun again. The Ducks’ playoff miss last season and the coaching change that resulted in Eakins’ hiring last spring have created a new sense of joy.

The past is in the past.

“Winning is fun, regardless of who is at the helm,” said Getzlaf, whose overtime goal secured the Ducks’ 2-1 victory Friday night at Honda Center. “When you win, you have a chance to have fun. We’ve created a new atmosphere around here and that’s helped us breathe new life into things. Yes, we’re having fun and we’re enjoying it, but mostly it’s a new challenge and new perspective on showing up at the rink.”

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.